Gun



R. H. KEATON.

GUN. I

APPLICATION FILED JULY 12, 1918.

Patented Mar.

3 S H E ET 8 .fnI/er] (i 01' R. H. KEATON.

GUN.

APPLICATION FILED IULYIZ, I918.

1,335,342. P ented Mar. 30, 1920.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

Even i01 R. H KEATQN.

GUN.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 12, 1918.

1,335,342. Patenmd Mar. 30, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- 127143112 tip 1 Jfafierffl 752625021 ROBERT E. KEATON, 01-? SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

GUN.

Specification of Letters Patent. :Patgnted 1\Ia,1,30, 1920.

Application filed July 12, 1918. SeI'ial No. 244,524.

To all whom it may concern;

itlniown that T, Bonner H. KEATON, a

citizen of the United States. residing at the city and county of San Francisco and State f California, have invented new and useful Improvement in Guns, of which the followng is a specification.

This invention relates to a s n, a P

ticularly pertains to a gun of the mechan- V ically-operated type.

In present day warfare it has been found desirable to produce impellingmeans for projectiles other than explosives. Insolving the problems incident thereto it isnecesisary to provide a structure which maybe readily operated mechanically and wh ch lends itself to fire the projectiles at rapid speed and with certainty of aim. It is the principal object of the present inventionto provide means for accomplishing these re- 7 sults.

Another obj ect of the present invention is to provide a feed mechanism operating in synchronism with the throwing membento deliver projectiles to the barrel and to 111 sure that they will be thrown therefrom without jamming in the feed mechanlsni or the barrel.

The present invention contemplates the use of a barrel of any desired caliber mounted upon a base, from which it may be swung either horizontally or vertically, said base at the same time carrying a positively operated projectile feeding mechanism wiich delivers the projectiles to the barrel from. which they are thrown by the action of a rotary projector.

.The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in

which Figure 1 is a view in elevation disclosing the operating mechanism, and particularly disclosing-its pivotal connection.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vlew in section and elevation illustratlng the means provided for tilting the gun vertically.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view in plan illustrating a portion of the feed mechanism provided for the projectiles. V

Fig. 4 is a View in section and elevation disclosing the manner in which the projectiles are delivered from their hopper to the feed conveyer.

' Figs. 5 and 6' illustrate the manner of delivering the pro ectiles from the feed iechanism to the barrel of the gun] Fig. 7 is a view in side elevation illustrat 111 the un barrel the feed ho 3 381 the roera 7 9 p jector' and the mounting for said'members. j

F 1g. 8 1s a view 1n plan further illustrat ing the parts disclosed in Fig. 7 and the re entrain stratus PATENT oFFroE. 5

lation between the gun mounting and its barrel. 7 I

Fig. 9 1s a fragmentary view in vertical section illustrating the lower portion of the feed hopper.

Figs. 10 and 11 are views in elevationand plan, respectively, illustrating the manner in.

which projectiles may be delivered tothe barrel by a conveyer belt.

Fig. 12 is a view insection showing the formation of the guide way provided for the projectiles as they pass to the feed mechani sm.

Fig. 13 is view in side elevation illus- 1 trating another form of the gun, and particularly the carriage construction.

Referringv more particularly to the draw ing's, 10 indicates a base member which is formed as a portion of a motor cage 11. This motor, as will be LIIIClGIStOOCLIIIiLY be of any desired type, and in the present instance is illustrated as an electric motor disposed with its armature shaft standing vertical; Formed as a portion of the motor casing at its upper end are bearing lugs 12. A pair of. these lugs is provided to carry aworm shaft 13, upon which a worm gear 14 isse curec. The shaft isprovided with a hand wheel 15 or other suitable means by which it may be easily operated. The worm gear 14: is in constant mesh with a worm wheel 16.

This wheel is disposed horizontally and circumscribes the vertical axis of the motor.

united along a horizontal line and are formed with bearlng portions which, when combined, provide suitable support for a horizontal drive shaft 20. This shalt driven by the motor by means ot a driving pinion 21 which is in constant mesh with a J a r (illVlIlg gear 22.

. the upper end of the motor shaft and is projectile feed member centric disposition of the pro ector blade 'iartially surrounded by the lower portion of the frame.

The rotary action of the motor and these bevel gears will continuously rotate the shaft to drive a projector blade 2% and a Due to the cothe shaft is provided with a counterbalancing member secured on the end of the shaft adjacent to the blade.

flThe teed member is here shown as a continuous worm which forms a feed groove into which the projectiles are delivered from a feed hopper 26. This hopper is directly disposed in trout Oil the feed member 25 and is provided. with a false bottom wall 27. This wall is adapted to rotate upon a shaft 27 and is formed with peripheral the hopper and extcndsoverthe movable floor thereof. This plate is not entirely eoncentrically arranged in. relation to the axis of the hopper. but extendsoutwardly and directs the travel of the projectiles trom the depressions on the rotatable lioor into the groove of the feed member. As particularly shown 1n Fig. 4-, the main body of this plate is angular and forms an inclo ing shield for the projectiles so that they will not jam in the feed member and will be delivered thereto, as determined by the spec 'ing of the depessions upon the plate :27.

'Ilhe formation of this guide plate at its lorward end is shown in line. 12. wlnle the lateral. retain ng portion is shown n Fig. (5.

The hopper 2(tis carried by an angular- 'arm 30. This arm is pivotally n'lounted this sh aft.

upon the shaft 20 and extends forwardly and then parallel in relation to the axis ol The outer end of the arm is provided with supporting and clamping means for a gun barrel 31. The barrel ma be of any desired caliber and must be tormec'l with. a longitudinally extending slot 31, This slot passes vertically through the central axis of the barrel and is of sufficient- The gear is fixed to.

' the feed groove thereon.

of the muzzle.

tical pl ano.

width to allow tree passage of the projector blade therethrough at the same time lea v- This will provide a run-way tor projectiles as they are'forced forwardly by the projector. The rear end of the gun barrel terminates substantially against the circumference of the feed member 25 and in direct comnnmication with the endfol'. The projectiles when delivered along this groove will pass to a point in alinement with the path of travel of the swinging impeller and-will at ing. a portion of the bore of the gun unimpaired.

this point pass into the gun barrel, as particularly shown in Fig. 5, utter which the impeller will force the pro ectile forwardly and cause it to pass out 'otthe opposite end In order that the gun'barrel maiy be swung vertically the bracket member 30 is fitted with a gear segment 32 which is secured to the bearing portion of the'bracket and isin engagement with a worm gear 33 rotatably held by the upper frame member of the gun; This gear is rotated by ahand wheel 3 L and will swing'the gear segment 32 and'its angular bracket 30 through a rer- Thus it will be seen that the combined manipulationof the hand wheels 15 andB l will permit the gun barrel-to be aii'ned-at any point.

In the gun construction as disclosed and described in the preceding partof the specification the use ofspherical projectiles has been contei'nplated. These members may be solid metal balls or maybe formed as con ta-iners :t'or explosives... In case, however, that other formsot projectiles are to be used in the'gun, it may be desirable to provide other-teed and conveyor means. In Figs. 10 and 11 a cylindrical projectile 35 isused'and is delivered to the gun barrel by means of a conveyor belt 36. This belt passes over suit able pulleysST and carries a series of cleats 38 adapted to1consecutivelypass beneath a gravity feed hopper 39. As the cleats pass beneath this hopper they will carry. one of the projectiles and will deliver it, to an inclined run-way i0 which will convey it to the gun barrel. This type of projectiles may be used embodying a fuhninate explosive cap. As the cap is placed upon the forward end of the projectile the force of the projector will not cause a premature explosion to be made. It will. be readily recognized that bombs of various design can be thrownwith this machine without danger to the operator and with accuracy of fire. 7 It will, be evident, that various changes and modifications may be made in the construction of the gun, and particularly in the manner inwhiQh'it' is driven and mounted. Another form of construction is shown in,

base plate -11 is provided, and may be se- I p resent cured to a permanent gun mount. plate has an upwardly extending hub adapted to receive a pivot pin 42. The pin 42 stands vertically, and is formed as a part of a turn-table 43. This table is adapted to swing horizontally, due to the rotary support of the pin within the base, and is formed with a series of gear teeth 44 around its edge, which are in mesh with an operating pinion 45. The pinion 45 is hand-wheel shaft 47, at the upper end of which a hand wheel 48 is secured. The shaft 47 may be rotatabl held in a bearing bracket 49 carried by the base 41. Rotation of the gear 45 will produce a rotation of the turn-table 43 and swing the entire gun mechanism horizontally. The turn-table 43 carries an operating motor 50, the shaft of which is provided with a driving gear 51. This gear is in constant-meshwith a pinion secured to the end of the shaft 20. It will be understood that this is the shaft upon which the projector blade 24 is mounted and by which it is driven. The shaft 20 in the construction is carried in opposite bearings forming a part of the frame member 53 corresponding to the frame structure 17 in the previous design. The frame 53, however, is fixed to the turn-table 43 by standards 54. The shaft 20 is provided with an arm 30 by which the gun barrel is carried. This arm is of the construction previously described, and may be swung vertically upon the axis of the shaft by means of the gears 32 and 33.

In the operation of the gun first described a suitable rigid gun mount is first provided, after which the base portion is secured to this mount. The aim of the gun may then be controlled by manipulation of thetwo hand wheels and 34 and the fire thereafter produced by the rotation of the projector as driven by the motor 11. This projector is formed with a peripheral surface, a portion of which is concentric to its rotating axis and the remainder of which is eccentric thereto. Due to this construction of the blade the projectiles are taken from the feed mechanism in substantially a state of rest and are thereafter engaged by the driving edge of the projector to cause them to gradually increase their speed as the projector rotates. It will be understood that by the time the projectile has reached the point a of the projector it will have attained a sufficient speed to travel at a predetermined velocity.

During the movement of the projector the projectiles will first encounter the concentric surface 7) and will thereafter be forced along the eccentric face 0 to the top a. The delivery of the projectiles to this eccentric surface and the barrel muzzle will, of course, be effected by the continuous operation of the shaft as it simultaneously drives the This fixed to a impeller blade and the delivery screw 25. This last-named member is'in mesh with teeth upon the periphery of the rotating floor 27 of the feed hopper and thus'auto matirally furnishes itself with projectiles which it afterward empties into the barrel of the gun.

T he operation of the blade 24 will be identical in both of the structures shown in Figs. 1 and 13. In the latter design the manipulation of the carriage to aim the gun will, however, be slightly different. Horizontal swinging movement of the barrel is effected by rotating the turn-table 43 as well as the motor, while vertical swinging movement is produced by rotation on the hand wheel 15 as previously described.

It will be readily recognized therefore that the feeding and firing of the gun is in absolute synchronism and that under the presentarrangement one projectile will be delivered to the barrel upon each revolution of the shaft 20. It will be understood that variation in the timing of the feed in relation to the revolution of the shaft may be effected by closing certain of the recesses 28 in the rotating floor 27 of the hopper. 7 Thus the projectiles may be fired in succession and at any desired interval in relation to each other, the conical plate serving to continuously direct the projectiles downwardly toward the recessed. surface of the floor 27, and thus insuring that these recesses will at all times be supplied with the balls.

In the form of the feed device shown in Figs. 10 and 1.1, the hopper 39 may be filled, and the conveyor belt rotates in the direction of the arrow a the cleats 38 will suecessively carry the projectiles to the barrel. The firing operation would be the same with either type of feed.

It will thus be seen that by the use of a gun of the present construction a large number of projectilesof any desired shape may be successively thrown or fired as directed by a gun barrel and may be readily drawn from a hopper which does not'require skill in. its feeding nor skill in the operation or manipulation of the main mechanism of the IVhile I have shown the preferred form of my invention as now known to me, I

wish it understood that various changes in I the construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention as claimed.

In the event that the motor driving the gun mechanism is not self-governing it may become necessary to apply some sort of governor mechanism to insure that the projector blade will rotate at a constant rate of speed, and will, therefore, fire the projectiles at uniform velocities.

Having thus described my invention, what Iclaim'and' desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. A catapult gun comprising a guiding barrel, a device for feeding projectiles, an impeller, and a spirally grooved Worm by which projectiles are transferred into the line of movement of the impeller.

2. An apparatus comprising a directing gun barrel, a feed hopper and an impeller actin in line with the barrel, a spirally channeled Worm by which the projectiles are carried into the path of the impeller, and a rotatable floor having depressions around the upper face thereof and co-acting with the channels of the feed worm.

3. Anapparatus comprising a directing gun barrel, a feed hopper and an impeller actlng in line With the barrel, a spirally channeled Worm by which the projectiles are carried into the path of the impeller, a rotatable floor having depressions around the upper face thereof and co-acting With the rhannels of the feed worm, and a guide plate fixed with relation to the rotatable floor and the feed Worm grooves.

4%. in a gun of the character described, a hopper, an impeller, a gun barrel to receive projectiles from the hopper and the rev0lu ble impeller, the gun barrel having means to change its dir-ction vertically and horizontally, a motor and gearing driven thereby, a spirally grooved carrier, and a co-acting guide to insure the passage of the projectiles from the hopper to the path of the impeller and into the barrel.

In testimony Whereofl have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

ROBERT H. KEAT'ON. Witnesses lV. W. I'IVEAVLEY, JAMES M, ABBETT. 

